A monster in the water, creepy cryptids in the woods, and generational curses. Every hometown boasts its fair share of spooky urban legends and spine-chilling folklore, and Spokane is no exception. Here in the Lilac City, whispers of the paranormal mingle with chilling tales of creatures lurking in the shadows. Are they mere campfire stories, or is there a flicker of truth hidden within Spokane’s urban legends that offer a glimpse into the city’s hidden mysteries?
A Monster Lurks in the Waters of Rock Lake
It was the Indigenous tribes who were the first to claim there was something very large living in the depths of nearby Rock Lake, a belief still held by some to this day. An early 1892 article in The Spokane Review shares the alleged true story of a Native American man’s encounter with the monster during his childhood. At the time of its publication, he was in his late 70s to early 80s. He claimed to have encountered two white men taking goods to the Palouse River, and they offered him trinkets and a knife if he would help them navigate the region. At one point during the journey, they found themselves rowing across Rock Lake when they noticed a hole in the side of the lake’s walls that they believed to be a cave.
Curiosity got the better of them, but as the canoe edged closer to the odd entrance, they suddenly found themselves being pulled by the current into the dark cave unexpectedly and from there, things went from bad to worse. A terrifying roar echoed throughout the cave. An eerie silence followed before the water was seemingly hurled backward by a great splashing that could be heard in front of them. The travelers used the current of motion to recede out of the cave and back into the daylight, all while the splashing sound continued in the darkness.
Still not out of danger, the canoe was suddenly surrounded by what was described as “looking like a whole thicket of vine-maples stripped of leaves and branches sprung up around the canoe, encircling it in their grasp.” As the three men jumped from the canoe and into the water, the old man remembered feeling the slippery arms of their assailant. A struggle ensued, and the now-wounded boy managed to make his way back into the canoe before falling unconscious due to his injuries. When he awoke, he was floating along the turbid waters of the Snake River, his companions nowhere to be found. In the article, he stated that he had not returned to the lake since and that the “mysterious creature undoubtedly destroyed” the men.
Spokane is a Cursed City
Ask any longtime resident of Spokane who Jimmy Marks is, and they’ll tell you he’s the colorful character who put a gypsy curse on the city back in the 1980s. Marks himself had humble beginnings for the story to end so dramatically with a curse. Jimmy was born in a camp near Boise into a Roma family, growing up living with some 20 extended family members in little travel trailers and tents warmed by stoves as they traveled about. As a result of his background, young Jimmy would grow up facing a mountain of prejudices against his Roma family, with the common misconceived notion that they were thieves, and even worse, some legends of the time suggested that Roma abducted babies to sell into slavery.
As a proud representative of his people, Jimmy grew up determined to redeem this checkered reputation of his people. When an opportunity would present itself with the ’74 Expo in Spokane, the Roma family would jump at the chance to showcase their talents. Finding success, the family would settle in the city with Jimmy becoming a used car dealer. Still, the prejudices against the Roma lingered, and by 1986, police suspected the Marks family was fencing stolen goods. That year, on June 18, the Spokane Police Department raided the family home and conducted a search without a warrant, and even included the search of family members not even suspected of any crime. They found over a million dollars on the premises, including $160,000 in jewelry.
So what does one do after such an atrocity has been committed? For Jimmy, it was simple — sue the city for unlawful search and seizure and put a curse on the city in retaliation. The court case proved successful, being settled at 1.43 million dollars. As for the curse, let’s just say anything terrible that happened in the city from then on, Jimmy Marks claimed it was because “the curse has worked well,” and he would even frequently visit city council meetings to remind them all that the curse was indeed still in effect. Even ten years later, during his father’s funeral, Marks would halt the funeral procession in front of city hall, open the door of the hearse, and let the ghost of his father loose to “haunt the building for all eternity.” It seemed the curse lingered until Jimmy’s death in 2007. When giving a eulogy, his son Michael “Duke” Marks stated, “The curse, I think, is off Spokane. We appreciated everything that has been done, all of the cards and sympathy.”
Washington State Historical Society
A Monster Created the Spokane River
Long before European settlement in the region, the Spokane Indians lived in terror of a huge monster that lived both on land and in the water. It was said that he swallowed whole any bird, fish, or animal that came near him, had claws that were so strong they could uproot the largest of pine trees, breath so bad that it could kill people, and that no weapons could pierce his skin.
A legend from the tribe states that one day, a young girl was picking berries near where the Spokane River now flows into the Columbia, and at the time, the Spokane River itself did not exist. She stumbled upon the monster sleeping in the sunshine on the hillside. She managed to quietly slip away and rushed back to her village as fast as she could to warn them. The village headman then called upon his men, and together, they headed off to slay the fearsome beast.
While still sleeping, they managed to tie him to trees and rocks before they all began to beat him with their weapons. Upon waking, the monster made one big jump, immediately breaking free of their ropes, then turned and ran eastward until he reached Lake Coeur d’Alene. As he fled, he tore a deep channel, and when he reached the lake, the waters of Lake Coeur d’Alene rushed into the channel and made a new river, the Spokane River.
Bigfoot Lives Among Us
Throughout Washington, tales of this massive cryptid both excite and terrify all that call the state home, and it seems that no city is safe from the creature, not even Spokane. A number of sightings of the elusive Bigfoot in Spokane have been listed on the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) website, and dozens more have been shared through local news outlets and radio talk shows. The earliest sighting on BFRO dates back to December of 1961 when deep tracks were found in the snow on Mount Spokane.
More recent encounters with the bipedal cryptid come from the Spokane River, as well as Medical Lake. In September 2020, a resident reported to BFRO that they had heard howls near the river, and just three months later, another report came through of a possible sighting in Riverside State Park around 5 a.m. That same year, 2020, a Medical Lake resident also found bigfoot-like tracks in the snow.
Whether these legends are rooted in reality or fueled by our collective imagination, they undeniably add a layer of intrigue to our Spokane community. Perhaps the true magic of the city’s urban legends lies not in their veracity but in the way they spark our imaginations. They remind us that even in a modern city, there’s space for the fantastical and the unexplained. So, let these chilling tales ignite your curiosity and guide you to an exploration of Spokane’s hidden secrets.
